A Court of Stars and Snow
by ThunderingShadow
Summary: Daemati is the daughter of Rhysand and Feyre, and living a happy life in the Night Court. But what will happen when she finds her mate? He has already fallen for her, but will Daemati fall for him? And what will Daemati do, when present romances are in the picture? Who will she choose?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! This is a new FanFic that I have just started writing/creating, and thought I should maybe give you a taster. One or two more final things: I'm open to any reviews, whether they're nice reviews, critical reviews, or helping out with some spelling mistakes I've missed, just anything. And also, if you haven't already, check out my other FanFic, A Throne of Lies and Hurt!**

 **P.S: This is set about 200 or so years after SJM's latest ACOTAR book, and is seen via Feysand's lovely daughter: Daemati. Happy reading, people!**

* * *

The wind pushes me forward through the air almost lovingly as I flew over the top of the Court of Nightmares, my strapless, tight fitting and floor length black dress with silver trim billowing softly out behind me. I glide into the courtyard smoothly, dodging the looming, skeletal gates with ease, and land like a feather in front of the gleaming doors. I hear slight thuds behind me, and my the High Lord and Lady of the Night Court walk in front of me, their wings flaring out behind them, and then closing them with a slight snap. The High Lady's unbound hair fluttered out behind her like silk in the wind, her dress a stark white with gold thread (exact opposite to mine), pooling around her, while the High Lord's short hair was pushed back by the wind, his black shirt and pants clinging to his muscled frame.

They stood side by side, placing me in between their shoulders, then flanking me, was the best two Illyrian fighters, who were also the Night Court's General, and the Court's Shadowsinger; Cassian, and Azriel. We all fell into an arrowhead position, myself in the middle of these brilliant High Fae and warriors, and then the Morrigan came forward to complete the point. Mor turned slightly and glanced in Rhys' violet eyes.

"Ready to go?"

"Yes Mor." Rhys turned to me. "You ready, Warrior?"

I nodded sharply, and grinned. "Dad," I addressed him. "I've practiced over what I have to do, and who I have to become."

Rhys nodded with a laugh, and Mor turned sharply, lifting her chin, and strutted up to the doors and pushed them open. Her footsteps echoed around the walls, making all of ours combined sound like a small army had come. Another set of door stood in our way, and Mor hesitated as she placed her hands on them. The High Lady placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Mor took a confident breath and the Lady took her hand off, just before Mor pushed the doors open, and the Night Court's Inner Circle had officially entered the Court of Nightmares.

* * *

As the doors opened, the rooms temperature turned frosty and edgy. Mor prowled forward, and everyone dropped their eyes. I scanned the room as I had been trained, and I saw her father quickly scrambling up and off Rhys' throne. I caught his gaze, and I glared daggers, baring my teeth at him. He started, and dropped eyes, and fell to his knees quickly. I smirked at his form, and flicked my eyes over the crowd, smirking at everyone as they dropped to their knees before our might. We still stalked forward, Mor leading the way to the thrones. Mor got to her father, sneered at him silently, and stepped over him before bowing down to us.

Cassian and Az stood quietly at the bottom of the platform, and watched as the three of us continued up the steps. I looked at the thrones again, and stepped towards my own, on the right hand side of my mother and father's shared throne. We turned around to face them, and my father motioned for me to sit, before he sat down and my mother sat in his lap. Already caught in the act, I propped my head on my fist and stared blankly at the sea of bodies in front of us. Cassian and Az turned around, happy that we were ready, and crossed their arms over their chests.

My father started to frolic around with my mother, and I knew with embarrassment that none of it was entirely faked. I sighed noisily, playing the annoyed and dramatic teenager, crossed my legs, and started to clean my nails. Rhysand's eyes casually travelled over to mine, huffed, and muttered out "Rise.". The court rose as one, and looked to the High Lord for the next instructions.

"Keir, come." Rhys' eyes were cold and distant. "The rest of you, go away and play." Rhys grinned shark-like.

The people of the Court of Nightmares obeyed, and Keir walked forward and grovelled to my parents, completely ignoring me. A snap rang throughout the room, and Keir cried out and recoiled back, a blazing red welt covering the left side of his face. My mother loomed above Keir, baring her teeth in a feral snarl.

"Do not ignore my daughter, Keir," She hissed. "Or you'll get something worse then a slap." Feyre smiled cruelly. "Maybe I'll take away your favourite part as the next punishment…" Keir blanched.

Keir then turned to me with fear and disgust mixing up an earthquake on his eyes, and I turned my head away, bored and I saw him bristle out of the corner of my eye. I swung my head around and leapt toward him, snapping my teeth close to his neck. Keir stumbled back, blood welling from the small bite, and I grinned at him, and let him watch as his blood trickled slowly down my chin.

Mor sneered at her father, and smiled happily at me. I smiled back at Mor, and flashed an angelic smile in Kier's direction before swaggering back to my throne. The entire room had frozen when I had lashed out at Keir, and now you could hear my slight footsteps echoing around the silent hall. I could feel all their petrified eyes plastered to my back, and I could smell their fear easily. I could even scent that a few had shat and pissed themselves, to my disgust and characters delight. I plopped back into the seat and looked over at my mum and dad with a girlish smile.

They smiled back at me, and I saw that my dads eyes were filled with pride. Then they turned back to face Kier, and their smiles evaporated instantly. I sighed again, and got up and prowled off the throne platform. I strode into the mingling crowd, and let everyone see my wings. I felt Cassian break off and follow me. The crowd parted as I stalked through the room, the crowds eyes glued to my wings in horror and fear, and I was sure Cassian's looming figure wasn't helping. I got to the edge of the room, and turned sharply, giving Cassian a sly and sexy smile.

Cassian stepped towards me, returning the smile, while slowly raking his gaze up and down my figure. I beckoned for him with a cocked finger, and he advanced on me. I pressed myself up against the wall, just as Cassian reached me.

"All an act, right?" He purred in a whisper, though his eyes reflected another emotion faintly.

"Just an act," I whispered as my heart fluttered faintly. I had had a crush on Cassian for a while now, and now I think it was turning into more than a crush.

Cassian then stepped forward and kissed me passionately, hands moving around my body. One of his hands found its way around my waist, and he pulled me closer, moulding our bodies together, while the other hand stroked my sensitive wings. I groaned in his mouth, and he laughed softly and trailed his lips down my jawbone and down my neck, teeth grazing my skin. I hissed, gulping in air quickly, while my heart thumped in my chest.

Silence had overcome the court, and I opened my eyes to see why. The court had stopped, and everyone was staring at the thrones as my parents both looked at Keir as he writhed in pain, unable to cry out. I was drawn to my mum's face, as a slow smile was spreading over her face. I tugged at Cassian, and he twirled to face the thrones.

"How rude if you to say that, Keir," my father purred. "How so _very_ rude…".

Rhysand then smirked at Keir, and I shot to my mothers side, dagger in hand, and sliced downwards. My mum then allowed the court to hear Keir's unearthly scream of pain as I cleanly cut through the bone and muscle of Keir's left hand. A feminine scream cut through the air as the hand limply fell to the polished floor. I set my face into a stone cold statue, and listened to Kier whimpering in pain behind me as I turned to face my father.

"I'm bored, Daddy." I huffed loudly, making sure everyone could hear. "Can we go home already? You said that there would be entertainment here, and more blood loss."

My dad laughed and stood, laying his arm over my shoulders and mums. "Let's go. We have everything we needed anyway."

He then pressed a kiss on my forehead, and together the High Lady and Lord of the Night Court left the Court of Nightmares, with their Inner Circle trailing them, promising silent death to anyone who stepped out of place.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys - thank you sooooo much for the reads and reviews (even if we only have one... THANK YOU TO THAT REVIEWER! Lov ya!). All of the readers that are following and have liked this story as well, a BBBBIIIIGGGGG THANK YOU TO YOU. Ok. Now, I have that over and done with,** ** _on with the story!_**

* * *

 _My dad laughed and stood, laying his arm over my shoulders and mums. "Let's go. We have everything we needed anyway." He then pressed a kiss on my forehead, and together the High Lady and Lord of the Night Court left the Court of Nightmares, with their Inner Circle trailing them, promising silent death to anyone who stepped out of place._

We arrived back at Velaris, and immediately my mum went to Amren to give her the information of what had happened. Elaine came down the stairs, and ran over to hug me. I hugged her back gratefully. Elain had always felt like my older sister, and best friend I could tell everything to. Nesta came barking down the stairs, talking to Lucien, and a male was trailing Nesta, smiling despite how bossy she was being. The male was a head taller than Nesta, with lightly curved shoulders, melted brown eyes, light skin, and shaggy, dirty blonde hair.

Instantly on my guard, I slipped gently from Elain's embrace and stepped in front of her and into a crouch, growling, with a second dagger in my left, clean, compared to my bloodied one from cutting Keir. The male stopped moving instantly, and warily looked at me. I scented him lightly, and caught the tang of fear and wariness.

"Who are you?" I growled. "What are you doing in here, let alone with my family?"

The male blanched and looked to Nesta.

"Daemati, this is my fiancé, Luka. Luka works at the Rainbow."

I had to hold back the snort at Nesta being engaged, which meant having a leash put on you, and taming yourself. But I held my stance, not budging an inch. Nesta sighed, and told me to "Stop being so dramatic", but I ignored her. I continued to glare at him, and smiling evilly as he squirmed beneath my gaze.

"How long have you been engaged?" I growled, dragging my eyes to clash against Nesta's.

"A few weeks."

"Going out?" I raised my eyebrow.

"Almost a few years. Maybe four or five?"

I snarled, and Luka jumped and looked at Nesta.

"I thought you had told them we were together," He had an accent, from where, I couldn't tell.

"No." She looked over at him with a small lovers smile. "I kept them in the shadows, because I thought they might react like this…" An angry look shot in my direction.

I snarled again and pushed Nesta out of the way as I passed, glaring daggers at Luka as I passed, and snuck a vulgar gesture at Nesta. I heard her gasp and start to come after me angrily, but Elain stopped her, whispering to her.

"Let her go. She's just tired and hurt that you didn't tell her." I heard.

I walked up the rest of the stairs, and down the hallway, past my parents room, where I could hear my father working away. I walked to my door, and pushed it open, before shutting it in an angry calm. When I was shut away in my room, I went to my window, placed next to my large, plushy bed, and opened the doors, stepped out onto the edge of the window, and jumped. I flared out my wings as the ground rose up to greet me, like the countless other times, and levelled them out at the last moment, skimming the ground as I rose up easily.

I flew out over Velaris, gliding on the winds like a feather. I did this all the time, and yet I always found that Velaris could always surprise me. I flapped out over our neighbourhood, then swung around to face the direction of the Rainbow. I landed about a minute later, and folded shut my wings before walking inside. Art decorated all the walls surrounding you when you walk in. Some were official artworks, others just splayed out over the walls. Frames covered each of the corners. Fae, Lesser and Demi, walked throughout, some covered in paint, some without anything out of place. Children ran through the place, and you could hear the occasional parent scolding them.

This was a place of peace, and tranquility. But with a dark and hateful feeling, I remembered the stories mum and dad had told me, about when Velaris was ransacked by the Mortal Queens, and the King of Hybern. I paused my walking, and breathed in a slow breath with closed eyes, and released it slowly. I repeated it, and could feel everyone steer a respectful path around me. I was filled with a sense of longing and sadness, but then a warm and comforting hand was laid on my shoulder. I turned to the owner, opening my eyes in the motion and saw Cassian. _Of course_ , I thought with a blossom of faint happiness coming through. _Of course he would have been watching me. But for what reason?_

"Hey," He smiled at me. "Are you ok? You left the house in quite a state when they couldn't find you."

I sighed and took Cassian's hand, leading him outside. I flared my wings open, Cassian following suit, and pushed off, flying up and over, heading towards the little bushland about half a kilometre off the edge of my family's house. We arrived, and I headed on, following an invisible pathway in the sky. We came upon a tree that stuck out a little higher over the treetops, and I banked down towards a small piece of wood shadowed by the over hanging leaves and branches. It was relatively invisible, if you don't know what to look for, and where to look.

I flapped into a careful landing, and Cassian hopped down next to me. I walked forward, and pushed back the curtain of leaves and vines my mum and I spent weeks and weeks braiding together when I had become a century old. I smiled at the memory, and I smiled sadly as I surveyed the work behind the curtain. It was an old treehouse the entire family had put together for my fiftieth birthday, everyone making it absolutely beautiful for the surprise opening and revealing. I had been so happy with the place, I ran here everyday after my lessons with Amren and Mor, while I couldn't fly. And flying came in after those lessons started up as wasn't a sign of dust anywhere, and all the leaves needed to be swept out again. There were a few little twigs laying here and there, and the old paintings my mum had covered the walls with needed a touch up.

I sighed happily, and plopped into one of the carved wooden seats mum and dad had moved inside a few years ago. Cassian sat beside me, and placed a comforting hand on my knee.

"Mati?" His pet name for me rolled off his tongue easily. "Back to my question? And you still come here?" His eyes showed his surprise. I smiled ruefully back at him, punching his shoulder lightly.

"Of course I come here still, you prick. How else is gonna clean up all the dust and glasses of beer you males leave here?" I teased.

Cassian turned his head away, turning his nose up in faint nonchalance. "I don't know what gibberish you're talking about." He laughed and ducked as I threw a handful of dried leaves at his face.

"Aw, come on! I've come up here after you males have absolutely trashed the place, and still I painstakingly cleaned everything up!" I rubbed my back, dramatising it. "I think I might have aged a few centuries after all the cleaning I've done here, _and_ damaging my back."

Cassian laughed and raised his hands in mock surrender. "Ok, ok, little cleaner. I admit." His face creased slightly as he evilly smiled. "Azriel was the one who trashed this place the most, followed close behind with your dad," His face turned into mock pain as I snorted at him. "It's true! I was the one who winnowed them all home, hauling them up the stairs, and at least _tried_ to keep the treehouse clean!"

I rolled my eyes. "Sure," I said dryly. "Of course you were the one who kept sober around alcohol, and totally was the one who left Azriel's scent all over the house, with dad and your scents layering his own, you both covered in the scent of alcohol." I looked pointedly at Cassian, whose face had turned sheepish.

"Fine," Cassian groaned. "I admit, with all honesty, that yes, it was us males who caused the mess in here."

I smirked triumphantly at him, and he gave me a playful vulgar gesture in return. I sighed, and got up from my seat and walked over to one of the walls opposite the seating arrangements, and grabbed a small broom. I swept out the room, and as soon as I started, Cassian fell in to help. He picked up the little sticks and twigs, and placed them in a neat pile near the leaf curtain, while I swept underneath the table, the room we were in, the little deck outside, the little working kitchen that was installed in the room next door, and the little bedroom that I stayed in when I was younger, and small enough to fit in the little bed placed in there.

I always have planned to build a bigger bed frame, but I have never gotten around to it, thanks to my former lessons, and now a days, helping mum and dad run the court, visiting other courts, training with the Illyrian armies, and cleaning up this place after the men have been. I always regret not having enough time to do the task I've wanted to do for years and years, but I just can't at the moment. I sigh quietly to myself, and finish up sweeping. Cassian had flown out to deposit the gathered leaves underneath the house and surrounding trees, and so I was left alone for a minute or two.

I went into my little room, and sat myself down. I then looked over at the little bed, and set myself a goal. The goal was: whenever I had a spare moment in the day, I would come here, and work on the bed, no matter what. I nodded to myself and walked back into the main room, just as Cassian walked in. I smiled at him, and he returned it.

"What are you up too?" He looked at me warily with the smile still alight.

"Oh, nothing. Just thinking of some memories I've had here." I replied innocently.

Cassian looked at me with playful suspicion, and I kept up the mask of innocence with ease. He sighed, and looked at me expectantly.

"Are we finished here? Because I don't know about you, but I'm finished with cleaning."

I howled with laughter as I walked around the table and chairs, over to the leaf curtain, picked up the pile of sticks, and walked through the curtain. I continued walking to the edge, my wings flaring out behind me as I walked. I got to the edge and started to beat my wings, stirring the leaves surrounding me, and I slowly was lifted, and I hovered there, waiting for Cassian.

Cassian came out, and his eyes immediately went to mine. I smiled tauntingly, and Cassian smiled his reply. He jumped up off the ground slightly, wings coming out behind him like an artwork of an angel, and hovered mere metres away from me, arms crossed, and eyes holding triumph. I smirked at him, and he smirked back. I smirked wider, making my eyes take up a dangerous glint, and watched Cassian blanch slightly, his eyes beginning to be troubled.

I then winked at him, and closed up my wings, and dropped from the air.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! This FanFic is off with a massive bang, (much larger than I thought it would!) and I would just like to thank every single reader out there who enjoys the story, and is desperately waiting for the next release. THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL OF YOU! YOU ARE ALL THE BEST!**

 **Ok, but enough about me and my thank you's, so now:** ** _on with the story!_**

* * *

 _I smirked at him, and he smirked back. I smirked wider, making my eyes take up a dangerous glint, and watched Cassian blanch slightly, his eyes beginning to be troubled._

 _I then winked at him, and closed up my wings, and dropped from the air._

I hear Cassian roar, and I smile. I then flash out my wings, and swoop underneath the house, and hover there silently. Cassian, not a second later, shoots past, and plummets down, searching frantically for me. I can see his eyes flicking around, wide in fear. I had to laugh quietly, and I glided over to him, sneaking up on him. He kept on moving, constantly searching, so I had to keep changing paths.

Finally, he roared out my name, and birds flew up from their perches, alarmed, and squawked their annoyance. I hurled myself forward with a wide grin, and crash tackled Cassian. He instantly caught back, grappling for dominance, but I was ready, and had the upper hand. We landed on the ground and rolled, still wrestling, and my eyes met Cassian's. He immediately relinquished from the fight, and stared at me blankly. I was straddling his chest, his lungs rising and falling making me lift up and down with his breath. I smiled down at him, and he just continued staring at me, fear written all over his face.

"Mati?" He whispered.

"Cass?" I replied, worry eating its way forward, taking small bites at my happy mood.

The next thing I know, Cassian is kissing me. I jump, startled, but soon I melt into the passionate, and heated kiss. Cassian bites my lip and I moan in his mouth, and he shudders underneath me. His hands slide up my hips and trail lightly back down, making me squirm on Cassian's chest. I tilt slightly to the left, and we roll over, with Cassian on top, and me underneath. I groan, and he shifts his weight so it won't crush me. Then, he took his mouth from mine, and gazed into my eyes.

"Wow…" Its all I could say without wanting to kiss him again, or even take the next step.

He smiled, breathless. "Double that."

He then lent down and kissed me again. This second kiss was different from the first one. It was more slow, sweeter. More filled with longing, and making sure it stayed locked into our memories. I sighed as he ended the kiss, and was about to complain, but his face silenced me. His eyes were stormy, head swivelling in every direction like an owl.

"What?" I whisper, making sure only he could hear.

His silence stretched out, making me agitated and impatient. But then he glanced at me, and I felt a chill spider-walk down my spine. His eyes were slightly panicked, and that wasn't usual for him.

When he spoke, his voice was raw and cold. "Someone's here, and watching."

* * *

 **Hey guys. Sorry that I've done a short chapter this week. I'm a little busy at the moment, and I am also trying to work on my other FanFic, a Throne of Lies and Hurt. I haven't updated that for a while since I have been working on this one, so I'm gonna need to update that soon. So, I will update again soon, but please feel free to read my other FanFic, based on Throne of Glass.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! I'm now a little more up to date with a Throne of Lies and Hurt (my other FanFic), and feel free to go read it guys! Sorry if that was _waaaay_ to cheesy. **

**Ok anyway, back to** ** _this_** **FanFiction. I will try to balance both FanFiction's at the same time, so I might take a while to update this one occasionally. Just for warning you guys,** ** _juuust_** **in case!**

 **Ok, anyways, I'll let you continue reading!**

* * *

 _"What?" I whisper, making sure only he could hear._

 _His silence stretched out, making me agitated and impatient. But then he glanced at me, and I felt a chill spider-walk down my spine. His eyes were slightly panicked, and that wasn't usual for him._

 _When he spoke, his voice was raw and cold. "Someone's here, and watching."_

As soon as Cassian said that, I shimmied out from underneath him, and knelt on the ground, wings flared out, and hands in fists. I felt Cassian at my back, mirroring me, and I smiled despite our situation.

"Show yourself," I snarled, and the forest echoed my command through the trees. "Or else this might not end well."

A laugh billowed out softly, flitting through the trees, and swarming around us. The male was obviously powerful, and that made this meeting all the more important, and worse.

"Oh, sweet Daemati," The voice sighed. "Do you really have any clue to who I am?"

"Show yourself and you might find out," Cassian growled.

The voice turned cold. "You have no right to order me around, Cassian. Especially when you are with _my_ girl."

I snorted, as Cassian stiffened behind me. "Your girl? Really? If anything, I belong to no one. Including you." I shot back to the male.

A laugh came from above, and in a blink, I had a dagger drawn and thrown at the male's position. A shocked cry trilled through the trees, and a thump sounded next to us. Immediately, Cassian was upon him, tying the males wrists, and then probably throwing in a few punches that he at least tried to hide.

"Cassian," I put on my authoritative voice.

He looked at me, eyes questioning before understanding. He turned the male towards me roughly, and I was faced with an incredibly beautiful male. His eyes were like frozen blue lakes, his hair was shortly cropped, and the colour was ice white. His face was a soft heart shape, with high cheekbones, he was broad shouldered, and muscled. His eyes were filled with defiance, but when he saw me, all the defiance flew away, and he was awestruck. He took me in, like I was doing before, though he looked like he was drinking me in.

"Who are you?" I asked. "And what are you doing in the Night Court?"

It took a moment – and a punch from Cassian – for him to realise I spoke. "I – I'm sorry what?"

Nostrils flaring, I repeated my questions. The male nodded, and replied.

"I am the son the Winter Court. My father is Kallias, and my mother is Viviane. But my name, as you asked, is Kai."

I narrowed my eyes giving the look of contempt, but on the inside, my mind was reeling. _A High Fae? Of the Winter Court?_ The words that he said before resurfaced again. _Especially when you're with my girl? What is that supposed to mean? Unless…_ Now showing emotions on the outside, my eyes widened and I stepped back in horror. _No, no, no…_ From the looks on Cassian and Kai's faces, I must have said it out loud.

"Mati?" Cassian stepped forward, completely forgetting Kai. "What is it?"

I shook my head, still reeling in horror. "Kai, what did you mean before when you said that I am yours?" My voice barely sounded like my regular one.

A sad smile spread over his face. "Daemati of the Night Court, I think you and I are mates."

 _Antagonising minutes later…_

The room was dark, aside for a single beam of light in the centre of the room, white enough to temporarily blind a restrained Kai. Fog whispered across the floor. Even though we were all in the dark, everyone except from Kai knew where we were placed. Directly in front of him on a raised platform was my father, on his left was my mum, and soon to be on his right was me, but I wasn't standing there yet. At the bottom two corners, Cassian and Azriel would come. Mor is already placed on the second level on the left side. Directly opposite Mor is Amren, still the picture of promised death when pushed enough.

I watched from the back of the room, as my father nodded minutely to no one in particular, and the light turned off. No one moved, and we all listened as Kai started softly, and rightened himself. The fog thickened in the room, and of the sides of the room, fires flared to light, hovering by themselves. The fires illuminated everyone's obsidian markings that we had painted on each other's bodies. The markings, when paired with our dark clothes and showing wings, gave off the look of demons. I twitched my fingertips and Azriel shoved the doors open from the inside, light flooding into the room, and the three of us swaggered forward.

Veering off to the left of Kai, and as the doors slammed shut dramatically, I continued walking forward with Cassian and Az directly on my heels. I had to force myself not to look over at Kai (which took a lot of effort) and kept my eyes straight forward. Focused on keeping a rhythmic stride. Kept the shoulders back. Head high. Repeating the mantra over and over in my head. I soon fell into the character I played in the Court of Nightmares. Wings out, the fires around the room illuminated them, casting a ghostly shadow of myself onto the stairs. More fires lit themselves around the platform, and followed me up.

As I got to the top, little fireballs shot over beside the three thrones, showing Rhys and Feyre. Their eyes laid on me and I smiled at them. They smiled back, before looking to Kai. I went over to my throne and sat down, and before I could help it, my eyes travelled to Kai. His blue eyes were already looking at me, and when our gazes met, he smiled at me warmly. I couldn't help my heart fluttering in my chest, or the smile I returned. Unaware, Dad spoke first.

"Kai, you have surprised us greatly with your visit and your statement of being the mate of my daughter," Dad's voice was strong and confident. I could also detect surprise and curiosity. Rhys then turned to me. "Daemati, do you have anything to say before we continue?"

Kai had been looking at my dad as he spoke, but when he mentioned me, the eyes sprinted to mine. I met his gaze that had transformed from their respectful gaze that he gave Rhys to love and warmth. My face began to warm slightly. I nodded to dad, and opened my mouth to speak.

"Kai met Cassian and I in the bushland that you can find the treehouse in. Cassian was teaching me some aerial movements that you all learnt in the War Camp you grew up in when you were younger." I needed to lie about the aerial things because only Elain knew about my feelings for Cassian, but she wasn't here at the moment. "We flew to the treehouse and landed down the bottom, and that was when Cassian sensed that Kai was here."

I took a breath and continued on, hoping to weave the lie into the original story perfectly.

"Kai then came out, and Cassian escorted him over. That was when Kai introduced himself, and then after that did he announce that I am his apparent mate." As I said the word 'mate' I felt something that was almost like a door being discovered inside my mind.

Shock and wonder flowed through me as I tried to open in mentally, but it wouldn't budge. I was still looking at Kai when my dad addressed me again.

"Is that all, Daemati?" He asked me kindly.

"Yes Father," I answered, gaze still locked on Kai.

Kai was still focused on me, but as my father began to speak to him, his eyes were continuously flitting to mine and back to Dad's. Minutes past by, and I started to probe around the mental door, and daydreaming about what Kai might be like, away from all of this. To be honest, I had never been to any other Courts, other than our own Court, the Day and Dawn Court's. _What could we possibly do together if we were actually mates? What adventures could we have? Where would we meet together?_ Then another thought occurred to me. _If Kai and I were mates, then what would happen to Cassian and I?_

All thoughts of Kai were pulled away as I thought of Cassian. The one male I had known my entire life, the one who had looked out for me at any time, the one who had spent nights with me as a child when I had nightmares, the one who had been there every step of the way. The one I feel like I have started to potentially fall for. The thought scared me a lot. I was beginning to feel heavily conflicted, and now that all the memories I had with Cassian had surfaced, I didn't want to choose between either male. I couldn't bear to hurt both of them.

Kai looked over at me, and must have seen my eyes showing the inner conflict. His eyes turned troubled, and worry trickled in slowly. I came out of my thoughts and gave him a weak smile and a nod, silently saying I was alright. The emotions in his eyes and body language relaxed slightly, but his eyes replied.

 _Are you really?_ They asked kindly.

I laughed breathlessly, and replied back. _To be honest, no, I'm not._

 _What's the problem, my Star?_

My face and heart warmed at the name. _My Star? Where did that come from?_

He shrugged, and said back: _To me, the only star worth looking for has and only will be you. And no matter what, whether you are near me, or you are here in your Court, I will look for you in the skies._

My heart melted at the words, and I realised that what we were speaking wasn't only from the eyes. The mental door that had appeared a few minutes ago had opened slightly, just barely, but it was enough for us to speak mentally.

 _Can you feel it?_ His voice sounded stronger, now that I was aware of it.

 _Yeah, I can._ I breathed. _What is this?_

 _It is part of the bond that mates form. Your mother and father have this same bond connecting them, as of the countless other mated pairs._ His answer came.

That bit of information shocked me, but also made a few things clearer. I remembered the countless times mum and dad hadn't even been looking at each other, and one of them laughed at something random, and whenever I asked, they explained that it was a 'mate thing'.

 _Yes. Something like that._ Kai's voice startled me.

 _You saw that?_

 _Yeah._ His voice turned curious. _You didn't mean to show me that?_

 _No I didn't…_ I trailed off.

Kai's response was hesitant. _Does this…bond… scare you at all, Star?_ His voice had a nervous edge to it.

I considered it for a second. _No,_ I answered truthfully. _If anything, it comforts me. Before, it almost felt like I had half my mind and body, but now that you've come here, and said that we are mates, it made me feel whole._

Kai didn't have a reply to that, but sent an image of what I supposed was the Winter Court. _After all this, if you want to, then winnow here. I will meet you there, and we can figure things out there._

I didn't hesitate to answer. _Ok. I'll see you there._ Then I had a thought. _Will I need to bring warm clothes?_

His response was just a twinkling laugh.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys!**

 **ACOSAS is still going strong, and so I just want to thank you all for staying with the story! Ok, now a few of you have given a few reviews on what Daemati's mate should do for her. Thank you so much for the ideas, and I might see if I can add them into the story somewhere, will a few little twists and turns. Thanks again!**

 **Alright, so now let's get onto the story!**

* * *

 _Kai's response was hesitant. Does this…bond… scare you at all, Star? His voice had a nervous edge to it._

 _I considered it for a second. No, I answered truthfully. If anything, it comforts me. Before, it almost felt like I had half my mind and body, but now that you've come here, and said that we are mates, it made me feel whole._

 _Kai didn't have a reply to that, but sent an image of what I supposed was the Winter Court. After all this, if you want to, then winnow here. I will meet you there, and we can figure things out there._

 _I didn't hesitate to answer. Ok. I'll see you there. Then I had a thought. Will I need to bring warm clothes?_

 _His response was just a twinkling laugh._

A little while later, and Kai had walked away fine. Ok, maybe with a few quickly fading bruises curtesy of Cassian from in the forest, but anyway. The room was a little way from the Court of Nightmares, and as soon as I walked out of the room, the smell of pine and cold mountain air hit me from the side. I turned my head, and Kai drew me into a massive bear hug. I was surprised to feel relieved that he was still here, and so I hugged him back. We stood there for a few seconds, and Kai broke it.

He was a little taller then me, so I had to tilt my head up to look him in the eyes. A smile was pasted on him face, and he held out his hand, offering a silent invitation. I took his hand, and found that it was warm and calloused. We walked hand in hand, me leading the way, and I led him towards a balcony a floor up from us. The balcony was overlooking the nearby mountain range, and the mid afternoon sun was peeking out at us from behind one of the peaks. We walked over to the edge of the balcony, and I turned to face Kai, leaning my back against the railing, watching as he took in everything.

His eyes were wide with wonder and amazement with the view, and probably how far up we were. Kai then turned to me, and stood there, just practically drinking me in. I smiled at the look on his face.

"What?" I laughed. "What's so incredibly amazing about me that you see?"

It took him a moment to reply. "Everything," Kai breathed, before he kissed me.

The warmth and the love that radiated from the kiss startled me, but at the same time, I hungrily returned them. It felt so strange, but so right at the same time. Kai inched me further up against the railing, and I groaned in his mouth. A hand slip up my thigh, heat burning through the material of my dress. His other hand came around to my wings, which were making kissing Kai against a railing a tad bit uncomfortable, and lightly stroked them. I buckled in his arms, and he broke the kiss, caught unawares.

"I'm so sorry," I gasped. "My wings – it's just they are really sensitive…" I trailed off, embarrassed.

Kai's eyes turned curious again. "Does this affect you?" The hand that stroked my wings before trailed over the thin membrane. I shuddered at the touch, and my breath hisses out from my teeth. Kai's twinkling laugh rings through the air. "I'll take that as a 'yes' then, shall I?"

Cheeks burning, I nod, and he lifts me onto the railing with ease. Then his mouth is on mine again. I sigh into the contact, and loop my arms around his neck. My hands trail through his short, silky smooth hair and the hand on my thigh squeezed lightly. I gasp in delight, and he chuckles out a laugh. I don't know how long that kiss went for, and I also don't know _how long Cassian was standing there for, in the doorway to the balcony, before he coughed pointedly._

Startled, Kai jumped back, and I slipped off the railing quickly.

"Cassian," My voice was shocked. "Wha- what are you doing here?"

His gaze was harshly glaring at Kai, but as I spoke, Cassian turned that withering glare towards me, but not before I saw the hurt flash across his gaze.

"I was looking for you." Cassian said coldly. "And I had no idea I couldn't do that anymore, now that you have your mate."

I flinched at his tone, and Cassian's eyes softened slightly. Kai pressed himself up against my tucked in wings, and I was grateful for his warmth in the now chilled atmosphere. I felt Kai bare his teeth at Cassian, before he spoke.

"Do not ever say that again, you _Illyrian bastard_." He growled out. "If you _ever_ talk to Daemati like that again, you _will_ suffer." Kai's tone was a mixture of promised threat, menace, and protectiveness as he spoke.

Cassian fumed at Kai as he called him an 'Illyrian bastard', and even I was shocked at that. I tucked my wings in tighter in fear, and looked at Cassian.

"Cassian," I began, my pain and hurt obvious in my tone. "Please, don't be like that. I know you aren't like this."

Cassian's gaze was back to being cold, but now there was a layer of hatred underneath. "I'm sorry, Daemati." His voice sounded like he didn't know me. My throat closed up. He then shook his head, turned away from us, and walked off. As he turned, I caught a brief look of grief, and clenched fists that were now hidden under his showing wings. A small sob broke out from me, but I controlled the tears.

I felt Kai rest a hand on my shoulder, and I turned around and hugged him close. He returned the embrace, and rested his cheek on my hair. The tears started falling then, and so we just stood there, not talking, and me crying quietly. My thoughts were replaying through what just happened, and what I would do know. As if knowing what I was thinking about, Kai broke the embrace.

"I understand completely if you don't want to come to Winter right now," He said softly, head tilted off to the side, eyes sad.

I shook my head, wiping away the last few tears. "No, no, I want to come." I smiled at him. "Just let me just fly home and change, and I'll winnow in. That ok?"

Kai's smile thawed the rest of the remaining frost in the atmosphere that Cassian had left. "That's absolutely perfect, my Star." He kissed my nose tenderly. "See you there," He whispered before winnowing away, the scent of pine and cold mountain air swirling around me.

I sighed, and flew back to Velaris, and around the back to my still open room window. I landed with a dramatic roll, and stood, and tucked my wings back away. I then changed out of the dress I was wearing, and pulled out my warmest clothes that mum had bought me in case we went to the Winter Court (Thanks Mum!) and some warm snow boots. Then, I plaited my hair, and wound it into a bun, pulling out a few strands of hair just to be sassy. And just as I finished up, I pulled out my slightly weighty, woollen cloak, lined with warm animal fur. I threw that around my shoulders, and clasped it together with the metal wolf head broach and chain, and kept the hood down for the moment being.

I was just buckling a few weapons (just in case) into the hidden slots in my clothes, cloak, boots, and I also checked the hidden knifes/bobby pins in my bun, when Cassian stormed in. I turned, snarling, but paused when I saw him. My eyes welled up when I looked at him, and as I watched the familiar emotions fly over his face. Then Cassian finally took in what I was wearing and doing. His eyes widened, and flared with horror and anger.

"Where are you going?" His voice demanded an answer.

"No where you need to know of," I growled back.

Cassian snarled at me, and walked further into the room. He walked up to me, and grabbed my forearms in his hands, and glared into my eyes, hands increasing the amount of pressure. I don't think he even realised he was doing it, and I fought to keep the pain off my face.

"Damn it, Daemati." He growled out, and looked away, as if ashamed of me. He then swivelled his head around to mine again, and lent down, pushing his face directly in front of mine, mixing our breaths together. "I will not allow you to go meet that arrogant, Winter Court bastard - ".

That was when I snapped. I don't know where it came from, but I broke Cassian's grip, and slapped him in the face, arching my nails so that I scratched him. Blood welled up from the marks, and I watched almost in slow motion as he stumbled back from the slap, lifted a hand to his face, eyes wide with shock and widening further as he saw his hand. I felt my own face will with horror as I saw what I had done. I backed away slowly, shaking my head, tears coming to my eyes.

"Mati," Cassian whispered, recovering quicker. "It – it's ok. I know you didn't mean that." He stepped towards me, and reached out his unbloodied hand. "It was my fault, I shouldn't have said that."

I shook my head harder, backing further away. "Cassian - " My voice was pained. "No, please. Stay away from me." I choked on this next bit. "I'm dangerous."

He opened his mouth, but I spun around, pushed a dark wind of at the window to open it, and ran towards it, tears starting to stream out. I heard Cassian start to run after me, calling my name with rising panic. I beat him to the window and flung myself out, arms and legs out in a star shape, and before I hit the ground, I winnowed away to where Kai was waiting for me. The Winter Court.

* * *

As soon as I finished the winnow, the first thing that hit me was the cold. But I could really only feel it on my bare skin. I pulled up my hood, and flicked my wrists inside the cloak. Doing that brought down really warm finger gloves that was obviously gloves for warmth, but also they enabled me to be carrying around hidden stiletto blades that when I moved my hands in a certain motion, they would slide out over my knuckles and then I could wreak havoc as I liked.

I then pulled up a light but warm face mask that coved the lower half of my face. The top half would be covered by the cloak hood. Sure that I had covered up all my exposed skin was now covered, I searched my surroundings. I was placed in an area drowning with snowed down pine trees, and about a hundred and fifty paces away, there were faint outlines of slight inclines. Around twenty paces from me, there was a crystal like lake that was completely frozen over. I looked for any specific points, pricked my ears for any stray sounds, and scented the wind for any off smell. I then turned around in a small circle, and checked behind me.

I couldn't see Kai, so I decided to try out the new bond. I found now that the door was further open, and so I mentally went through to explore. I found that I could feel his thoughts, feelings, and if I concentrated hard and long enough, I could track him from my position (but that took quite a bit of energy and power). Slightly tired, but recovering quickly, I checked around, knowing from my little exploration that Kai was around here somewhere, but he was heavily camouflaged. I sighed quietly, and pulled the cloak tighter around myself.

My clothing choice would provide a medium amount of cover from a distance, but up close, it would be quite simple to find me. I turned around, and crouched down. I started walking hunched over, making my steps light and soundless, while covering some distance effectively. I tracked Kai from memory, and moved in a zigzag path, holding up my cloak up a little to cover my tracks without making a massive dint to show I was here. I sound came around a slight bend that had a little height (enough to hide someone my size), while it wide enough to fit me with my wings half stretched out.

I stopped, going into a low kneel and looked around, as this was the place Kai was hidden from what the bond was showing me. I moved my head around, gathering the slight details and significant points of view that I would use to scout out someone from here. A rustle of material on snow came from the far side of the slight mound, and I watched in amazement as Kai came into my clear view. Kai was laid out comfortably on the snow, in (as far as I could see) a floor length snow white cloak, with with thick looking white boots. It looked like he was moving effortlessly over the snow, both graceful and poised to attack at any moment. It was surprising me that I couldn't scent him at the moment, and how he couldn't scent me back either.

He was obviously looking for me, but if he was getting impatient, then he hid it well. He shifted into a better position, with most of his body hidden behind the mound, and the slightest amount of his head was around the side, probably to keep an eye out for me. I shadowed his movements, and found they came to me surprisingly easily. I crept up behind him, and slipped out one of my stilettos. Then, I slowly stood, and grabbed his collar. Kai started, and went to turn, but I spun him around quicker, and put the stiletto against his neck, and wrapping my other arm around his torso, pinning his arms to his sides.

"Move, and your gone," I growled in my most threatening and masculine voice.

Kai growled back in response, and I tightened my grip. I could feel his heartbeat faintly speeding up, and I had to swallow down my laughter.

"When I speak to you, you will answer everything honestly, and without any smart arse answers. Clear?" I ground out to Kai.

" _Crystal_ ," He said back with deadly calm.

I grinned demonically, and even though he couldn't see it, I still felt him stiffen.

"You are waiting for the Night Court bitch, aren't you?"

Kai snarled, but still replied. " _Yes_ ,"

"Is it true you too are bonded?" I made sure to sound a bit up myself, and it worked.

"Yes, but not in that way, you _prick_." Kai strained and thrashed against my arms, but I still held strong.

"What would you do, if I told you that I had her?" I whispered. Kai instantly stilled. "What would you do?" I taunted.

With a low growl, turning quickly to a feral roar, Kai broke my grip, and whirled on me. His eyes were raging wild fires, and as he saw me, Kai launched himself at me. I jumped away, and unfurled my wings, flaring them out in warning. My other stiletto slid out, and I winced. The flare of my wings and the jump back must have released them, and now if I tried to stop Kai with my hands or arms, I would end up hurting him.

Those few seconds of inner debate nearly cost me preciously, as Kai hurled towards me, surprise daggers drawn and flying towards me. I ducked behind one of the nearby trees, and flapped up. I spun around just as Kai's daggers thunked into the tree that I had been in front of mere seconds ago, and as he spun to face me. I hung there midair, and tried to soothe him.

"Kai," My voice was surprisingly strong for how much I was panicking inside. "Kai, relax. It's just me."

His eyes were still full of malice, but I could see confusion shadowing there as well. I pressed forward.

"It was a joke, Kai. I didn't mean to panic you so much. I'm so sorry."

I could still see and could feel that he was confused, so mentally I pushed through what my point of view was to show him. I read his face as he accepted what I showed him, and a tidal wave of relief washed over his face. My heart melted at the sight, because it showed how much it meant to him that I was safe. I flapped cautiously back down, just in case he was still jumpy from the joke, and he immediately hugged me.

I hugged him back, and tucked away my wings so he wouldn't get any boyish ideas if he did anything to them. Kai then cupped my face, and lent down to kiss me. I went with the kiss, and found it to feel so natural with him. The kiss soon heated up, and before I knew it, Kai had winnowed us away to another part of the Winter Court, and pressed me up against a solid wall. I couldn't get enough of Kai, and soon he was stripped off my cloak and outer layers, leaving me in my long sleeved grey shirt and casual, long black pants. Kai was also in his under layers, and I didn't care.

After however long of kissing, groaning, and the occasional little lip bite, Kai moved his hands along my hips and down to my thighs. He brought up my left leg, and wrapped it over his waist, and his other hand did the same to my other leg. I looped my arms over his neck, and dug in my nails. I don't know how he did it, but it triggered something in me that had me going more ravenous, more frantic. Kai seemingly matched it easily, and walked us over to somewhere. I could feel his leg muscles moving as he walked, and I broke the kiss and groaned into his shoulder, nails digging in harder.

He buckled against me, and laid me out over what I supposed was his bed. Kai then knelt in between my slightly parted legs, and tore off his shirt. His lips hungrily met mine, and a passionate fire was lit inside. I got my shirt off, and started to unbuckle Kai's belt. Kai shuddered against me, and I pulled them down. He did the same with me, and I rolled us over, getting myself on top, and I sat down, straddling him. We were both breathing hard, and I was the first to speak, gazing down at him.

"Kai," I breathed. "I – I can't… not right now…"

Confusion washed over his face. "What do you –" The meaning of my words sunk in. "Oh…".

Kai's face fell, and I felt so guilty to be the one having done that. The conflicting feelings had started when he had laid me down on the bed, but every time they surfaced, I just pushed them away instantly, but now I allowed them to float up. _Would would happen if my family heard of this? What would they think? What would they do? What would_ Cassian _do?_

The last thought made my breath whoosh out from my lungs, and I slipped off Kai's chest, gasping, pain rising from my chest. I knelt on the floor, and found there was a plushy rug beneath the bed. I just stayed in that position, gasping quietly, and fighting the rising pain. Kai was by my side, saying things that sounded faint and fuzzy. I couldn't understand what he was saying, but all I could feel was the excruciating pain. I clenched my eyes shut, and suddenly I could see a clearing, and in there was a group of Illyrian warriors. There was five in total, and they were fighting one lone Illyrian male. There was a few gang members with bad wounds, but my attention was on the loner.

The lone male was injured badly, with a cut to his forehead, multiple on his arms and legs, but his wings were in perfect shape, though there wasn't enough space in the clearing for them to be stretched out to fly away. As soon as the vision became clearer, I could recognise a few of the gang members, and where they were. Then with a sharp jolt, the vision ended, and I was looking at Kai's concerned face. But I wasn't focused on Kai. I was focused on the lone Illyrian male that the gang had attacked.

The lone male, was _Cassian_.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys!** **Now, I know that it hasn't really been that long since I uploaded the last chapter, but it feels like ages for me. I have been reading through all the reviews, and almost all of them are positive (aside from a stay few that sorta might have hit me hard [No names mentioned, privacy reasons]), but those I think are just making me love writing this all the more, improve the storyline/characters/everything, and making me stronger as a writer and person.**

 **Ok, now sorry about that rant, but I felt like I needed to get that off my chest. And also, back to the first part, I have also sorta been procrastinating this next chapter for brainstorming ideas by watching the Dolan Twins on YouTube (absolutely love you Grayson, and Ethan as well, but more Grayson!), and reading Tower of Dawn. I absolutely love it, and recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it yet.**

 **So, sorry again about both of those rants, and now on with the story!**

* * *

 _Then with a sharp jolt, the vision ended, and I was looking at Kai's concerned face. But I wasn't focused on Kai. I was focused on the lone Illyrian male that the gang had attacked._

 _The lone male, was Cassian._

I resurfaced into the normal world, stumbling out of my thoughts, and rushed around the room. I found my clothes, and started to pull them on. My hands were fumbling, and I felt warm hands close over my own. I looked up at Kai's face, and realised I had completely forgotten to tell him what had happened, and what I was doing. I quickly scanned over his face, and found there was fear, worry, love, and enteral trust in his features. It also took me second to find out, that Kai had helped to zip up my jacket, clasp my cloak together, and pull on my gloves with the hidden stiletto's.

"I'm so sorry," I huffed out. "I just – I don't even know what happened there…"

Kai caught my chin gently as I started to turn my face away. "Shh…" He soothed. Tears fell from my eyes then, and he hugged my to his chest. "Ok. What we're going to do is this. I'm going to get dressed, and while I'm doing that, just prepare yourself for what might happen, ok?" I knew that he still had no idea what was happening, and I found that I felt for him even more. He was trusting me, so that we could go sort out what Cassian was doing.

"Ok," I said. "While your dressing, I'll explain what's going on, so you know what to expect."

"You don't have to, if it's too much for you," He said worriedly as he turned away to get dressed.

I turned around, to give him some privacy (I don't even know why I did that, because he still had his pants on…), and started to explain what I had felt and seen, when the pain started. Kai was silent as he dressed, and stayed silent when I explained what the Illyrians were doing to Cassian.

"Even though I'm not overly fond of the guy," Kai started. "It doesn't matter. Five against one, is barely fair odds. And I get that he is one of the best Illyrians," He continued as I turned towards him and opened my mouth. "But still, it doesn't mean that – by the look of it – five fully trained warriors can go up against him."

I was fully turned, and saw he was dressed fully in what I supposed, was the Winter Court fighting gear. It was toughened leather, with iron studs poking through the material, giving off a fearsome look. The boots were a dark charcoal colour, and had little metal studs on the foot of the boots, to provide some extra grip when fighting. The leather's colour was a mixture of blacks and greys, and he had a matching mask that covered his hair and upper face. There was a few obvious weapons shown, like the two swords attached to Kai's waist, and the daggers sheathed directly behind them.

Kai probably had multiple other weapons hidden within the clothing, and I nodded my approval. With that, I hauled up the hood on my cloak, and offered my hand to Kai. He didn't hesitate to take it, and before me left, Kai asked me a question.

"You sure we don't need anyone else from here? I can get a few men from father." His offer made me smile, and I shook my head.

"Thank you though. I'll speak to dad when we get there, and he can bring along Az." Kai's face became a little hurt, and I added quickly. "Illyrians are some of the most skilled fighters. Illyrians to fight Illyrians to be taken down." I remembered something else, and told him quickly. "As the winnow finishes, grab my waist quickly, ok?"

Kai nodded at that, and with that note, I winnowed us both to the back fields of the Illyrian War Camps.

As the winnow finished, I called "Now.". I had to call it out to Kai because the roaring winds were billowing around us, and I quickly unfurled my wings, as Kai grabbed my waist. I flipped us over, so I was in control, with Kai underneath me, clinging for his life (and quite literally. A drop from this height would probably nearly kill him. Not that I'd tell him that…). I flew us straight for about thirty seconds, and then wrapped my wings in tightly, making us plummet down. I felt an increase of pressure around my waist, and soon finished the dive. Down here, it was easier to fly, and we were riding a calm but fast wind, pushing us in the direction of the clearing.

While I was flying, I was mind linking my dad, and telling him everything. His first reaction:

 _WHAT?! WHAT WERE YOU DOING WITH KAI ON HIS BED?!_

The second reaction:

 _Are you_ sure _your ok?_

I sighed, and replied to dad. _Yes, I'm fine. Worried about Cassian, but we're nearly at the clearing._

 _Ok._ His reply came. _Send us the memory, and we'll meet you there._

 _Sure._ I pushed the memory down the link, and told him that it was coming. After that, I zoned out of the mind link, and focused wholly on the flight.

I turned us to the right a little, and we skimmed past a mountain. I flew us along the mountain face, until the mountain finished. Looking down, I saw this was the right forest.

"Ok. I'm gonna take us down," I told Kai. "You okay with that?"

His response was only a tight squeeze to my waist, and a quick message through the bond. _Make it quick please…_

I chuckled with laughter, and made a safe drop from the skies. We quickly picked up speed, and the tree line rushed to meet us.

 _Brace!_ I called through the bond, and I felt Kai go ridged against me.

We broke the tree line, and I levelled us out, swerving in and out between the tree trunks. I was now thanking all the countless times my dad and I had raced through the forest with my treehouse, weaving through the trees, sometimes racing each other, sometimes chasing each other trying to tag the other pair of wings. Thus forest was slightly different, but I had flown through it a few times, and had sometimes watched Cassian, dad and Az come here, for some sparring practice. The weaving soon ended, and the trees started to space apart more. The clearing came into view, and I landed quietly where we were.

Kai let go of my waist when he felt solid land under his feet, and looked to me and smiled.

 _How was the ride?_ I grinned devilishly.

 _Quite smooth actually… oh wait. You talking about the flight?_

I pushed him playfully, and he laughed through the bond.

I came out of the mind link with Kai, and went through to dad. I spoke with him as I stalked through the surrounding forest, starting to space myself from Kai, and cover ground with ease. I scented around us, and caught scent of quite obvious evidence of a recent fight. _Blood, sweaty bodies, metal, leather, and male Illyrian warriors._ I paused for a moment, and scented again, searching this time for any obvious warriors I knew or any bodies, and found four of the gang's bodies. I remembered that there had been five in the gang, all against Cassian.

So, without a doubt, Cassian and a member of the gang had taken off, and to do what, I was uneasy about.

 _Dad, I'm at the clearing,_ I started.

 _And?_

 _Cassian isn't here, and neither is one of the gang members…_

Strings of curses and words that I would never think off spilt from his side, and I smothered my laugh. _Do you know where they went?_

I was about to answer, when Kai was brought to my attention. He was kneeling next to one of the warriors, and doing something to the body. Confused, I told dad just hold on a minute, and I walked over to Kai.

"What are you doing?" My voice sounded slightly frosty, and as I spoke, Kai jumped and scrambled to his feet.

"Nothing," He replied quickly. "Just checking the inflicted wounds."

I was faintly confused at that, but I hid it and nodded my head. I scented the air around me, and couldn't find a trailing scent of Cassian or that last Illyrian. I strained my senses to find even the slightest trail, but I couldn't scent anything. I cursed under my breath, and looked at the faces of the surrounding Illyrian's. Names popped up in my head of the fallen members, and I whispered prayers of safe travels to the Lands of the Dead and the Cauldron. Kai still stood beside me, though his stance had a small tense woven into it. I made sure to ignore it physically, but mentally I noted it, along with how quickly he had replied to my question, jumped up, and kneeling beside the fallen.

I shook my wings out, looked up and flipped back while grabbing Kai, as my father and Azriel landed in front of us. Both were dressed for stealth and combat, and stone cold, murderous looks swelled around their faces. They took in the fallen bodies, and muttered little prayers under their breaths like I had, and took note of the warriors. Then, turning to me, my dad started asking me questions. I answered all of them honestly and truthfully, and with each answer, Az and Rhys looked grimly at one another.

Az released a sigh. "I fear, that I know who and where the final member has taken Cassian."

I instantly twirled around to face him. "Who and where?" My mind buzzed with unasked questions, and I felt my hold on them slipping fast. All I could picture was Cassian chained up somewhere being tortured, slowly dying as the Illyrian warrior watched on gleefully.

Rhys placed a firm hand on my shoulder, and squeezed gently to help me regain control. I looked at him gratefully after I gained it back and he nodded, but didn't take the hand away. I welcomed the familiar warmth and love it provided, and listened as Azriel shovelled information at us, answering our few questions, and describing the layouts of where, and the warrior's description. I felt Kai standing deathly still on my opposite side of dad, and connected with him quickly as dad spoke with Azriel, getting some last info before deciding on plans.

 _You ok?_

 _Oh, yeah, I'm all good. You?_ Kai replied a little too quickly.

 _Worried about Cassian, but personally, I'm okay._

Annoyance briefly flared at what I told him about Cassian, and I tried to hold back from snapping at him. But, that didn't work as quickly as my thoughts did.

 _What? What is so bad about me caring for one of my friends?_ And someone that I cared – and still care for – I realised silently.

 _Oh, I don't know, Daemati. Maybe because I have no idea how clearly you feel for me, and whether or not you still love him._ His answer snarled back.

I snarled and growled back at him, and anything he was going to say, or feel, I shut out by placing a solid mental block in my mind. I could feel him trying to get through, but I kept solidifying it, making it almost impossible to get through. I came out of the link, and completely ignored Kai as he tried to catch my attention.

"Ok. So what are we going to do for Cassian?" I asked Rhys and Az.

Az smiled grimly, and explained a brief plan to me, though it wasn't physically verbal. He was feeding me the plan through our own mind link, and dad was there too. After the plan was finished being explained, I nodded at my two fellow family and court members, and turned coldly to Kai. His eyes were full of sorrow and unsaid or unheard of apologies.

"Kai," My voice was like frozen gravel. "You're going to have to go."

The shock that ricocheted through his body was enough to cause earthquakes. "Wh – what?" To be honest, I was surprised that his eyes didn't pop out.

"This is a job for Illyrian warriors - which is us - and Fae who have the ability to fly - also us. If you come, we will constantly be watching out for you, and you'll just slow us down when we're getting the hell out."

"So why can't we just winnow out?"

"Because, the suspected Illyrian has perhaps taken Cassian to a place were winnowing is cancelled out. So, please. Go back to the Winter Court." I was losing my patience at all the questioning, and bared my fangs to emphasise my point as I finished.

I watched as emotions swarmed over his face, as if someone had poked a stick down an ants nest, and they were trying to escape. But, one emotion kept repeating itself. Hurt. I stood there and waited, observing as Kai slowly breathed out, and visibly straightened himself.

"Fine. I'll wait in Winter Court. But if I see or feel anything from the bond that doesn't seem right, I'm immediately coming, whether you like it or not."

The steel behind his eyes could have been easily crushed by my stubbornness, but a hand on my shoulder settled me. I didn't need to turn, to know that it was Az.

"Come on. We need to go now."

Without a final look at Kai, I turned and walked behind Rhys and across from Az for a few steps, before we flew off into the atmosphere. We circled a few times, seeing as Kai was appearing to shadow us, before my dad angled us in the direction of the sun. Then, he cast out a big dark portal, and we all flew through; the portal winnowing us through to where the suspected Illyrian had taken Cassian.

A harsh wind met us as the winnowing portal dropped us above a mountain ledge. The three of us glided down to it, and took some of the brief shelter. We had decided earlier that we would communicate through sign language, or when we actually went into the hideout, mind link.

 _Where is the hideout thing from here?_ I asked Az.

 _A few metres lower_ , he replied. _Did you see the slight drop underneath here?_

I thought back to when we arrived. I had seen a little incline before we had landed, but didn't think anything of it. _Yeah, I did. Why? What's so significant about it?_

 _That's covering the entrance of the lair that Cassian might be in. You need to go down first, and look for a crack shaped like a wonky snake or worm. When you've found it, slide one or two fingers in, and twist to the left._

 _Ok. What else?_ I continued.

 _After that, immediately tell us, and we'll come through and get you. And after that, go with the plan._ Rhys summed up.

I nodded to both of them, and signed see you soon, before easing myself down the edge. I was grateful that dad had brought me a spare pair of stealth and combat gear, and I had ingeniously hauled them on without anyone noticing (I hoped at least) while we were discussing the plan by creating a shadow of my physical form, and cloaking myself in shadows. I had walked off, gotten changed, and come back within two minutes.

Now that I was wearing them and using them, I moved with ease towards the little incline, the wind tearing at my shut in tight wings. Reaching the little incline, I scanned for the little crack Az had described. It was a little hard, because my braided hair (another thing I had done while changing) kept flying in my face, and all the cracks really looked the same. Checking down near my boots, I saw the tiniest little crack that was slightly more rounded that the others. I knelt down, balancing my weight pre-cautiously, and took a closer look.

It was the exact crack that Azriel had described, and with a silent smile, I brought my left hand down. I wedged two fingers in with a little difficulty, and when I finally did, I turned them quickly and called _alright, now!_ through the conjoined bond I had with Az and Rhys. I kept my fingers in the crack, and felt them going slightly numb. I shifted a little, and tried to release some of the pressure I had applied on them. Only, the numbing didn't go. It just got worse. I grimaced against it, and bit down on my lip to keep from grunting.

 _Az, dad. Hurry. Please. My fingers are starting to go numb, and I think it's in the bad way._ I notified them.

 _Crap! We're trying Daemati. Just give us two seconds!_ Came Dads reply.

The numbing in my fingers had started to get worse faster, and I held back from yanking them out. The pain had started to feel like little hornet wasps were stinging my fingers repetitively, and almost like I was playing with blazing hot embers, just out of the fire.

 _DAD! HURRY!_ I screamed through the bond.

Within a few seconds, the crack had disappeared, and replacing it, was a doorless opening, with a stairway leading downwards. Standing at the top of the stairs was Rhys and Az, and both stepped towards me, eyes lined with worry. I cradled my hand against my chest, and pulled off one of the hand gauntlets I was still wearing from meeting Kai. I checked the fingers, and saw they were completely fine, to my utter amazement. I looked questioningly at dad and Az as they knelt in front of me.

 _Mind influencers._ Az signed. _They make you think something is happening to you when you either touch them or are near them._

I nodded, amazement flowing through my mind at how realistic the pain had felt. Dad helped me get the gauntlet back on to my now fuzzy feeling hand. As one, the three of us stood up, and Az offered both his hands to us. Az's own hands were in gauntlets like mine, though his had hidden daggers that could be replaced as he wanted, or thrown from their secret compartments. Dad had similar ones, but his had three stilettos that slid over his knuckles when activated, like animal claws.

Dad and I gripped Azriel's hands with one of our own, and his power slid over us all. We shadowed down the stairs, and past no one as we went further down. We neared the bottom, and torches were hung in metal holders high above our heads. The light they provided was comforting to me, and as we stepped down off the last step, I sent out a cool breeze of night air, searching for any human bodies, or traps (hidden or obvious). Nothing came up, and I nodded to Az. We let go of each other, and stepped cautiously into the room.

My eyes flickered over all the walls, the floor, the roof, everywhere. All the dust patches I noted, any recent sign of struggle, all the cobwebs, the spiders crawling away from the lights of the torches. My dad turned towards me, and flicked his eyes at the spiders. I crinkled the corners of my eyes, and without a move, a fire wind swirled around me, combing through every crevice in the room, searching for anything. The flames licked over the roof, twinkled over the walls, and scoured across the ground. The spiders fled desperately from the fire, and they all scurried over to one side.

A little flick in my mind pushed its way through my mind, and I focused on it. The fire wind died down as I stepped forward, following the spiders. The last few squeezed through just as I knelt down, and studied their escape route. A flame leapt from my mouth as I breathed out, and stayed there, dancing next to the spiders get away point. There was a half circle shaped mound in front of me, with patterns burned into the rough stone. There was about a centimetre and a half wide gap underneath the mound. I stretched my hand under, and felt around. I blew another bout of a night breeze through, and found that this in fact was somehow a door. I made a part of the wind solidify into a hand shape, and push down on a poking out handle look a like.

I jumped back, and both males jogged over to me, as the solid looking wall in front of us slid open. I melted the hand back into the wind, and felt a little jolt on the left side.

 _This way_ , I said through the bond.

I started to walk into the room, following the tugging in my mind as the wind swept over and through a space in the room. The tugging increased as it went down a corridor, and around to the right. I had to jog to keep up with the wind, and felt dad and Az right on my heels. The wind increased yet again, and I had to amp up my own pace slightly. Without a warning, the wind hit something solid, and it disappeared. I halted on the spot, and looked into the darkness. I moved my wrists around, and felt my stilettos slide silently out. I made a small flame emerge on my shoulder, lighting the way for the three of us, as I crept towards what had made the wind disappear.

We rounded a corner, but as I looked around, I gasped quietly, and ducked back around, clamping a hand on my mouth. Az immediately swept himself into the shadows, and shifted out of dad and my view as he went to inspect.

 _What's there?_ Dad asked no one in particular.

 _The Illyrian warrior._ I replied. _But, he isn't in good shape._

Azriel sent through an image of our surroundings, which clearly showed the Illyrian that had supposedly captured Cassian. _But there's more,_ Az's voice came through.

 _Is it safe if we come around?_ I asked Az.

 _Yeah. But, the Illyrian isn't a pretty picture. I just softened the image just in case you weren't ready._ Az grimly said.

I looked at dad, and we both walked around the corner. I stopped as my eyes went straight to the Illyrian. I doubled over, gagging at the view, and felt Az's hand rest on my shoulder as he came out of the shadows. The Illyrian was lying face up on the ground, portraying the beautiful picture of his now hollow, ripped open chest. All the organs were thrown around the room, and joining them were ripped out chunks of flesh, splattered blood and the Illyrian's two eyes. The throat had been ripped open with apparent hate and vigour, leaving deep wounds and shredded flesh and muscle hanging out.

His wings were torn apart, with bones sticking out in various places, and gaping holes were punctured through the Illyrian's arms and legs. Blood had been smeared over the walls and a puddle surrounded the dead body. I finished gagging, and looked up at dad and Az in horror. Dad had gone sickly pale, while Az was staring at the body with regret, sorrow, and pain.

"What did this?" I whispered, my voice sounding like an unwanted sound in the still atmosphere.

"I don't know," Rhys said.

"Whatever did this, really didn't like Bashar," Azriel commented.

Bashar, if I remembered correctly, was one of the few Illyrian males who had treated Az like an equal when he first came, and I knew that Az had had a few good times and memories with him. But that had all apparently changed when Cassian and my dad had come into the picture. Even when Bashar turned on Azriel, Az had still always seen him as the friend that Bashar had been before. And I also knew, that Az was thinking that Bashar should never have left this world like this. No one, ever, deserved to go like this.

I searched the room with my eyes, and saw that Bashar was near something that didn't fit the picture. I walked over to it, and picked it up. It was a knife. It was a beautifully crafted one, with the iron was smoothly melded into the shape, the handle leather being lovingly used. The blade was oiled regularly by the look of it, if you wiped off a little bit of the blood. I then looked at the hilt of the blade's handle, and nearly dropped the blade in shock.

"Daemati?" Azriel asked. "What is it?"

My back was turned away from them, but I stood and turned towards them, and spoke.

"It's a knife," I said. "And it's Kai's."


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys! There's little to say here, so I'm just not gonna say too much. The FanFic is going really well, and I really need to thank you all so, so much. Without you all, I would have never have got this far, so thanks a million to you all! Without you guys wanting more and more, I doubt that the story would have been shaped like this, or this popular.**

 **So with all these thank you's from me out of the way, the story shall go on!**

* * *

 _"Daemati?" Azriel asked. "What is it?"_

 _My back was turned away from them, but I stood and turned towards them, and spoke._

 _"It's a knife," I said. "And it's Kai's."_

Dads eyes immediately changed from horror, to confusion, to shock, to suspicion, and finally to open bloodlust and loathing.

"How? Why would Kai have been here?" I asked no one in particular. "But if he was even here, then how couldn't we scent him?"

Understanding dawned on Az. "To get Cassian before we can." But to answer my second question, Az just shrugged.

I rounded on him, betrayal and confusion bleeding through me. "Kai wouldn't have a clue to where this place is though! And Cassian wouldn't just let Kai take him!"

"No." Dads voice startled me. Honestly, I had even forgotten he was here, because I was wholly focused on what evidence we had at hand. "Kai would have found out where this place was."

Azriel and I both looked at each other with questioning eyes. Dad looked at me.

" _Your bond_."

Cold terror dribbled down my spine. "Cauldron save us," I whispered.

Azriel surged towards me. "Look into the bond and see if you can trace him. See if you can check into his memories, anything that you can find." His eyes were hard and unforgiving, and I nodded sharply.

I focused on the bond, and surged over to Kai's side. I slammed into a wall, but it crumbled beneath the impact I made. I forced myself to calm down as I came to a more solidified mental block, and weaved myself into Kai's mind. I am the heir of snow and frost. I will stop at nothing for Daemati. Cold mountain air. Snow laden pine trees. The wall came down, and I pushed forward, looking into the mind of Kai.

It was strange to be inside his mind, with Kai's thoughts flowing over and around me, almost being read aloud to me. Pictures flickered past my vision, and I came to a smooth halt when I found Kai's direct vision. I experimented whether or not I could turn his head, but I couldn't make him. So I tried something else. I weaved thoughts into his head, and Kai responded to those thoughts without a moments glance. I didn't gather much from Kai's immediate surroundings, so I ventured further inside his mind, searching for past memories and the last few places he had gone.

One bell that rang clearly in my own mind, was that his memories showed me that he had been in the Night Court longer than we had originally known or thought. As soon as Kai had seen us go into the portal, Kai threw himself into our bond, and searched for where I was. I watched in shock as Kai found our position, listened to our plan, and acted instantly. He winnowed to the mountain, and found quickly another entrance to the lair we were in. Kai then took a short route to what seemed to be a command room. He had found Bashar inside, and hid himself quickly, shadowing Bashar as the Illyrian walked back to a room that was identical to what Az, dad, and I were in currently.

There, Kai had attacked Bashar without restraint or mercy, knocking him to the ground with unearthly ease, and killing him emotionlessly. I watched in horror next, as Kai finished up the kill, and stalked over to a side wall, and slamming both fists into a certain point. The wall crumpled under the wrath, and a slim pathway was shown. Kai walked fearlessly down, with fists glowing icy white. I forced myself out of Kai's mind after that, and stood there gasping in the normal timeframe world.

"What did you see?" Az asked at the same time dad said: "Are you ok?"

I nodded at dad, and recapped what I had just seen and discovered what Kai had done. When I finished, dad let out a cold and hollow laugh.

"Oh, that boy's gonna _pay_ for all this shit he's laid out."

A little twinge of guilt pinched my side. "Dad, just remember, he's still my mate…" I reminded him.

"Yeah, I know Daemati, but this guy is crazy! I mean, he has basically killed an innocent Illyrian, kidnapped one of our closest friends, and nearly took away your virginity!"

Embarrassment blossomed through me, and my cheeks warmed as Azriel shifted and averted his eyes awkwardly.

" _Dad_ ," I began, but he cut me off.

"Daemati, I'm sorry, but we'll have to talk about this later. We need to catch Kai before anything else happens to Cassian."

I nodded in defeat, and straightened myself, walking over to one of the walls. I remembered what Kai had done with punching the wall, and I tried copying his movements, using the same stance, summoning up power, and the force behind the punch. As my knuckles hit the wall, the room shuddered, and a few small rocks pinged free out of the roof. Dust rained down on us as well, and I looked over at dad and Az. Both nodded encouragingly, knowing that only I could do this properly, and not exactly happy about leaving the work to me.

I walked over to the wall on my left, and repeated the movements Kai had done. The wall shuddered and crumbled underneath my fists. Amazed, I flexed my wrists, and strode forward, starting up quick jog as we went down the narrow walkway. Without knowing it, I changed to a sprint, shooting towards where my mind was leading me. I constantly checked in with Kai to make sure I was following where he had gone, and in doing so, we didn't encounter any traps or dead ends.

* * *

Well, we _did_ , however, intercept a _teeny tiny_ roadblock.

Dad, Az and myself were flying down one of the corridors, when a giant monster dropped down from the roof in front of us. The beast was a giant spider, with multiple acidic green eyes. The legs were easily my height plus another half of me, with thick, dark hairs coating the full length and wicked looking hooks were attached to the feet. The fangs dripped yellow toxic smelling liquid, and the rest of the body was lathered in oily looking skin. Calling up my magic, I hurled it at the beast spider infront of us, a feral scream of rage billowing out of my mouth. Fire blazed out towards the beast, and it reared up on its legs, seeming to swallow up the raging inferno coming out of my hands.

Weapons were drawn as the spider landed with a thump, and bellowed at us. I gaped as the spider now appeared bigger than before, and scrambled back as the toxic smelling liquid was sprayed in our direction. Az let loose one of his daggers, and the spider scuttled away quickly, but still the dagger sliced past one of the eyes, tearing open a gaping wound in the beasts head. The spider reared back in pain, letting loose a blood curling scream that shook the area around us. The walls started to move, and I looked closer to see little shiny black bodies crawl down, and start heading towards us.

"Dad! Az!" I called. "Get big ass! I'll keep the small ass ones back!"

Nodding, they both surged forward in a whirl of blades, darkness and wings. I looked away, and faced the oncoming wave of spiders. I shot out small bursts of flame, ice, wind and occasional flashes of quicksilver metal as I flung my daggers at them also. Slowly but gradually, the spiders were pushed back, but the ones that neared the flames or were hit, grew in size. Working out that small disadvantage, I pulled daggers, both magical and physical, and threw them at the growing sized spiders. As they fell, the baby ones – to my horror – paused on the bodies, and started to eat the now dead spiders.

As the little ones ate the dead, they also grew in size. I quickly splayed out more and more daggers, and a desperate sob nearly broke out of me. The little spiders just kept constantly coming down and down. There just seemed to be an endless stream of them. I could hear the full out battle behind me, but I couldn't risk to look back or help them. I then decided to try a different tactic. I formed a wall of ice in front of the sea of tiny and growing in size spiders. I made it the height of the roof, and made it see through on my side. I watched in fascination as they tried to climb the icy slope, but always slid back down. If the situation wasn't as bad, then I probably would have found it amusing.

I opened up a small hole in the top of the wall, and started to pour in pools and pools of water. The spiders scrambled back, screeching their anger and annoyance. When the water was around three quarters full, I could start to feel the slight drain this is taking on my magic. I grit my teeth, and watched as the last spiders struggled to stay above the water, and slowly, one by one, they sunk under. As soon as they were beneath, I froze the mass of water with a movement of the fingers. I wanted nothing more then to sag to my knees and sit there, but I knew I had to keep moving.

A roar caterwauled through the air, and I spun around, but I was smashed against my ice-wall. The impact left my head ringing, and blood filled my mouth. The weight was removed from me momentarily, but another, heavier weight pressed itself up against me. Hot, vile breath billowed over me, and faintly I could feel razor sharp pincers slice through skin and muscle, grating over bones.

"You may have killed my younglings, Fae, but neither of your men killed me." A voice slithered over me. I clenched my eyes shut further. A low, rough laugh shook the body clinging to mine.

Groaning, I forced my tongue to move. "Piss… off… you _bitch_ …"

A sharp, searing pain pierced though my neck, and I screamed. I writhed underneath the spider, trying to unlatch her poison coated fangs, but to no avail. Black spots were forming at the corners of my vision, growing bigger with each second, and still I fought against the spider. I knew winnowing wouldn't work down here, but still I tried. I grew claws and tried to tear apart the legs holding my arms down, and felt a glimmer of satisfaction as flesh tore beneath them. The spider grunted, but didn't let go, so I fought with increased vigour.

Ice coated my arms and body, and creeping up my neck. I knew the spiders hated the ice, and as the ice reached the spider's head, she reared back, finally releasing me from her hold on my neck. I flung out a blast of ice at the unprotected undersides of the beast of a spider, and I was dropped as ice speared through the monster in front of me. By now, the spots were almost completely covering my vision, but I blinked them back on sheer will, and rose to my knees, shaking at what had just happened. The power I had used was taking its toll, but I made myself continue on, knowing that I had to keep us going. I knew that we had to find Cassian, and quickly.

As I thought of him, my eyes went out, and a vision surged through. I watched almost through a thick fog, as I saw ground moving, heard wings beating heavily nearby, sounding like whatever was flying was carrying too much weight. Then, the vision showed a clear and alarming clue of their whereabouts. A forest, with familiar looking mountains in the distance, and a little secret clearing. The trees around the outside were little oaks, with towering pines to cover up the tops. Around the rim of the oaks were cute and closely trimmed bushes. A rainbow of roses peeked out of the bushes, and as the light shone on them, the petals slowly bloomed further open.

But the main thing that drew the eye, was the peaceful, and slow moving lake. The light sparkled and danced off the surface, and flowed sleepily around rocks, fluidly sidestepping larger rocks, and lazily drifting down the small waterfalls that were found in between the rocks and pebbles. The entire clearing was breathtaking, and if you truly knew what this place meant to my family, then it would mean so much more then a peaceful place.

The vision changed, and showed what was behind them. It showed an arial view of a force to certainly be wary of. There were foot soldiers, all dressed in tough looking leather, with weapons adorned all over the warriors. Helmets were astride the warrior's heads, and the design was one based on the fearsome white furred bears that walked next to the foot soldiers. Riders were mounted on the backs of the bears, with bows and full quivers of arrows slung across the backs. The bears themselves had shining armour that coated their bodies, and looked incredibly strong, quite like their rider's leather armour.

All of the soldiers, bears, riders and foot soldiers, had the same coloured armour that was a mixture of whites and greys, symbolising their Court, even if the snow coloured bears weren't a major pointer. _The Winter Court._ The vision turned cloudier and darker, before winking out. I found myself still kneeling in the corridor. The dead spider lay on its back, pieces of broken ice circled around the body, and still punctured through the body. I looked around for dad and Az, and found their unmoving bodies splayed out over the ground. Dread flooded my mind and body, and I found myself half running, half crawling towards them.

 _No – no no no no_

I can to the first form, and found it was Az. There were some cuts that perhaps needed some looking at over his face and arms, but those were the worst of the injuries that could be seen. With shaking hands, I felt for his pulse, and with overloaded relief, I found a strong and steady pulse. I called up with an immense effort a small amount of water, and splashed it on Az's head. Starting, he sat up in a flash, and scanned for any dangers. His shadows were faint, and incredibly thin as they whispered and danced around his shoulders.

"Daemati?" His voice was hoarse and scratchy, like he had used it too much.

I nodded. I intercepted his first question before it came. "I'm fine. A bit bruised and bloody, but fine." I knew the lie was obvious, and in the darkness around us, I hoped Az couldn't see the two holes in the side of my neck the spider had left.

Az nodded back to me, and I'm pretty sure he ignored how obvious the lie was, and looked for dad. I pointed over his left shoulder, and into the shadows. Even as you looked really close, you could still barely make out the dark outline of my dad. To the untrained, they probably would have stood next to him without even knowing. We both scrambled over to his side, Az doing so far as to walking a few steps. I fell to my knees as I beheld the damage that he had taken. Deep slashes were carved into his forehead, oozing blood slower then what I expected to have been flowing faster before, when they hadn't begun to clot. Other wounds gave off proof of the battle he had taken, but none were as bad as the ones sprinkled over dad's forehead. Az had gone completely still over me, and I looked up, not caring if my emotions of fear for my father showed. But Azriel wasn't looking at me, but over one of my dad's shoulder, eyes filled with dread and horror.

" _Daemati_ ," He whispered. " _Look…_ "

Wincing as I moved my stiff and sore muscles, I strained to look over dad's shoulder. When I could finally see what had captured Az's attention and caused him such horror, I sort of wished I hadn't seen. The beautiful wings that had once been perfectly sculpted and in one piece, was now mere shreds. Flesh hung off the slim but strong bones in tatters, with the bones freakishly showing their stark paleness against the black membranous flesh. Blood was dripping down the destroyed beauty in audible drips that rang out clearly in my ears through the roaring in my ears.

I turned away from the destruction, sitting down on my heels, feeling numb from the shock of seeing this happen to dad. My caring, loving dad, that would do anything for his court. Who would do anything for his family. Who was now this lifeless looking form, skin further paling from the blood he was losing from the wings.

 _The blood he was losing from the wings. Crap._

I surged up, and started to tear the soft material of my cloak into strips. Az didn't stop me as I started to tie them around the terrible slashes, but he started to help me instead. Desperate, I tried to hold down the rising sob that was wedged in my throat, tried to stop my hands from shaking, tried to regain the calm grip I had on my mind. I scrambled around my mind and regained a little control, enough to still my hands from their shaking, before hearing Az curse colourfully, and darkness swallowing me whole.


	8. Chapter 8 (Please read the bold at end)

**Hey guys! So, I know that it has been a while since I updated this story. Once again, I've been working on ToLaG, and also, I'm on holidays right now because our school breaks up earlier than most (one of the goods things of going to my school), and my family has been keeping me busy, along with other people in my life.**

 **So, anywho, I'm gonna let you get on with the story! Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Desperate, I tried to hold down the rising sob that was wedged in my throat, tried to stop my hands from shaking, tried to regain the calm grip I had on my mind. I scrambled around my mind and regained a little control, enough to still my hands from their shaking, before hearing Az curse colourfully, and darkness swallowing me whole._

I came to pretty slowly, to a Fae's standards at least, and tried to shift each of my muscles to get a feel of any damage, restraint and/or pain. I could feel the wound on my neck was throbbing, almost like it was pulsing with some mysterious substance or whatever, but no other injuries. Other then being restrained tightly, I could feel a weight on top of my legs, and my back felt like I was rising slowly up and down, almost as if I was laid out on someone. I strained my neck to try and glimpse who I was laid on, but the darkness prevented my vision, and as I moved my head, a bout of dizziness and washed over me.

Gritting my teeth, I stilled myself, and kept my movements slow and cautious. The darkness was a looming mass, and words that my mum had said long ago came back to mind.

 _When you spend so long in trapped in darkness, you find that the darkness begins to stare back._

Tensing against the bonds wrapped tightly around my wrists, I searched for any magic that I could find, but nothing was there. Cursing under my breath, I tried to wake Az and dad up by mind linking them, but a void of silence swallowed the words instantly. _Shit. Faebane. Shit. Holy_ shit.

As I looked at both of them, still passed out on the ground, memories and images flooded back into my mind. _The giant spider. The bite to my neck. The fight. The overuse of magic. The last vision of Cassian and his captors. Dad splayed out, wings in shreds._ I turned my head around slowly, to look at my dad again, and found violet eyes glittering in the darkness. My mouth would have popped open, but I had a gag in. I strained against the bonds again, knowing that it was useless, and I got the expected result. Nothing, only cut, bloody and raw wrists. I looked to my dad's eyes again, but saw they were sparkling in triumph. I cocked my head in a confused way just before I felt warm unbound hands fall on my own.

A loud click echoed through my ears, and my hands fell limply into my lap. I tore the gag away, and wrapped my arms around dad's neck, holding him close. His hands came around my waist, and held me tightly back. How long we sat there like that, for countless seconds, minutes, I don't know. All I could just focus on, was holding my dad close, and that he was okay.

I pulled out of the embrace, remembering the wings, and let the concern show in my eyes. I knew that it was too risky right now to speak, so I tried to show my question through my eyes. The message must have been clear enough to understand, and I watched as dad blinked at me once in an affirmative gesture, and I sagged slightly in relief. Turning, I then came around to Azriel and untied his bound wrists, took his gag out, and shook him back into consciousness. When Az grunted softly, I let my hands fall, and I watched as his hazel eyes opened. His eyes, along with my dad's seemed to push the darkness back slightly, but it still was a comforting presence to be around.

I widen my eyes in the darkness, to attempt to further light up the darkness, and dad and Az looked at me. Shaking my head, I tried to calm them down, and motioned for me to look at their injuries. We all knew that we had no magic to heal them, but as dad shifted onto his side, I found that the wings had healed over completely. Gaping in shock, I looked at Az, who shook his head. He then reached out his hand, and felt over my head, shoulders and neck. He came to where the spider had bit me, and I let out a little gasp.

The bite had healed over as well, left a massive scar by the feel of it, but the two holes in my neck had gone. Amazed, I met dad's eyes and through sign language, I explained everything that had happened to both of them, including the bite, the magic use, and the vision. I watched through the dim lighting as both their faces turned to stone, and when I finished the recap, they both started signing. All the movements were like lightning strikes, and I could barely keep up with understanding them. I got the main picture of it all, and I wasn't going to translate any of it anytime soon.

I was just about to sign "shut up!" to them, but something shifted slightly in the darkness. Seeing it, my hand went for one of my hidden weapons, but it was knocked from my grasp. Pushed back by a heavy weight, my head hit the ground, hard. The weight came down on my chest, and a blade pressed itself against my throat. Dad and Az jumped to their feet, but they shrank away, hissing, when daylight shouldered it's way through the crowd of darkness.

Squinting my eyes, I looked up as a shadow fell over me, and met eyes eyes of rich brown, coloured as if they were freshly tilled fields. Crowned with brown and golden kissed hair that fell beautifully into his eyes, the High Lord of the Dawn Court looked down on the three of us.

I could see myself mirrored in his eyes, and my lavender-grey eyes were filled with unknown defiance. Thesan's eyes then swept to Rhys and Az, amusement flooding them. I didn't want or need to move my head, as for the blade still at my throat, and because the Peregryn warrior didn't seem to have patience for a squirming captive, to know that my dad was giving Thesan a lazy grin. Saying something foreign to us, but familiar to the Peregryn's surrounding us that I had seemingly dismissed when I saw Thesan, the warriors took back a step and relaxed their tense grips on the blades. The one holding me down bowed his head and stepped away, and I nodded my thanks to Thesan and the warrior.

"You are lucky, Rhysand," began Thesan. "That the bond your Shadowsinger shares with his spies exists somewhere in the Dawn Court, otherwise you would not have been found." Thesan's voice was full of power, but under the layers, I could detect some brotherly love.

"We thank you deeply for everything you have done, Thesan." My father said. "The Night Court will remember this with gratitude."

Waving his hand, a small breeze scented with magic and fruity wine blew through the area, and I felt a glimmer of magic return. A hand was offered to me, and I accepted it gratefully, letting the Peregryn who had held me down, lift we up with the soft, adoring care, a mother would her young child. A bout of dizziness overcame me, and I heard a body shift behind me. Azriel stood behind me, and I was grateful for the steadying hand he placed on the small of my back to keep me from falling.

"The Shadowsinger also requested for armed backup, should we decide to help you," Thesan continued with an arched eyebrow.

"Kai, Heir of the Winter Court, has taken Cassian. We suspect that Kai is also Daemati's mate, though she seems to have a connection with Cassian, though seemingly not the one we think." Rhys started. "It was rumoured that one of the Fae at Dawn experienced the same thing, and Helion knew what it was."

Thesan's eyes sparkled with knowing, and when he looked at me, the sunlight danced beside the knowledge in his eyes. "Well, I'm not going to blame two Fae for fighting over your daughter, I'll give you that Rhysand." They both chuckled, though dad's was more forced, and I had to shove down my discomfort.

Looking at me and seeing the mental battle, understanding took Thesan's body language. "I'm sorry," He said, bowing his head. "What you and your family suspect that you and Kai about being mates, is completely normal. But the thing with Cassian," Chuckling, he shook his head. "Well, that only happens to one in every three or four generations."

"So it is true? About Cassian and Daemati being…" My dad trailed off.

Thesan nodded at dad, and turned once again to me. "Daemati," The way he was speaking to me made me feel like I was a little girl again, being instructed to do something very important. "I believe that you and Cassian are eternal mates."

The breath left my lungs as if I had been punched. I lurked back, and nearly fell over a gawking Azriel. Dad stepped forward and caught me as I fell, and steadied myself.

"We – Cassian and I – _what_?!"

Azriel looked at me, and concern swam inside, struggling to hold itself afloat while waves of shock pounded it. I linked him, and he immediately asked me:

 _Are you okay?_

 _Yeah, I think?_ I sent back. _Just caught completely unaware that there was such a thing…_

 _If it makes you feel better, I had heard a whisper of such thing, and I reacted the same way as you now, but I honestly never believed it to be true._

 _Thanks._ It weirdly did make me feel better for some reason.

I left the link, and as I came back, I was still being supported by dad, but he was conversing with Thesan about something. Dad sighed faintly, and I felt bad for him. Thesan sighed too, and after a moments thought, spoke.

"I will join you. No one should have sacred ground being trampled on, especially when they have prepared for question is though," Thesan cocked his head to the side. "How does Kai even know about the clearing in the first place?"

Shrugging, my dad shook his head. "I don't know. I want to, but I haven't found out yet. But that can be discussed later. We need to get to Kai, and get Cassian back. But we need to take the fight somewhere else."

Seeing that I was back from the link, my dad sent through:

 _Will you be fine if I go discuss a few things with Thesan?_

 _Yeah, I'll be fine. Want me to do anything to help?_

Sighing, my dad hesitated. _I don't want you doing anything that will make you completely gutted and drained…_

Glaring daggers at him was enough to persuade him. _Okay, okay. Fine. Could you possibly winnow back to Velaris and warn the others just in case they didn't receive the link I sent before?_

 _Yes. Anything else?_

A faint smile shadowed his lips. _Make sure your mum hasn't torn down the house looking for me?_

I laughed, and left the link. I thanked and bid Thesan goodbye, and winnowed out of there.

* * *

 **Hey guys! Thanks again for sticking with me, and for reading! Also, please don't hesitate to review, I'll take any feedback, and I mean any! Also, I need a few ideas for what to happen in the battle, or how Daemati will react when she sees Cassian after this entire time. But, I also need a few ideas on how Daemati will tell the remaining clueless Inner Circle and how they will react as well...**


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